INVESTIGATION 3 Planning an Expedition Club-tipped anemone LAURA FRANCIS lzlzlzlzlzlzlzlzlz n this Investigation, students design LEARNING OBJECTIVES I their own scientific expedition to the Students will: sea using the goals of Sustainable Seas • Conduct a simulated vertical transect Expeditions as a guide. They begin by in the sea as one method of doing conducting a simulated vertical transect research; as an example of one method scientists • Plan and design a scientific investiga- tion that meets the goals of use in oceanic research. Sustainable Seas Expeditions and recognizes the capabilities of BACKGROUND INFORMATION DeepWorker. Exploring—For Answers Sustainable Seas Expeditions Research STANDARDS Meet DeepWorker Geography Standard 3 NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries How to analyze the spatial organization National Marine Sanctuary Sites of people, places, and environments on the Earth’s surface ACTIVITIES Geography Standard 18 Sample Mission: Vertical Transect How to apply geography to interpret Planning Your SSE Mission the present and plan for the future Science Education Standards Recognizing and developing abilities necessary to design and conduct scientific investigations •47• INVESTIGATION 3 Sample Mission: ACTIVITY Vertical Transect Guiding Question In this activity, students conduct a simulated vertical transect, providing them with an example What is a vertical transect? How do scientists use of one sampling method that they may consider this method to determine the layering system of for their scientific investigations. The data repre- physical and biological parts in the ocean? sents a vertical transect in Monterey Bay, but may be replaced with data from other locations. Discussion Materials Scientists often face the problem of trying to ac- curately interpret a natural system based upon ❑ Dive Mission Cards, one set for the class the limited data they are able to collect in the ❑ Water Sample Cards, one set for the class field. Caught between their limited budgets and ❑ Photographic Survey Cards, one set for the time constraints, scientists seek methods of class sampling which provide the most reliable picture ❑ Wild Cards, one set for the class with the least number of samples. Practical restric- tions and logistics prevent collecting and ❑ Dive Plan and Pre-Dive Logistics Sheet, mapping every physical feature and organism en- one for each group countered. Taking such a thorough approach is ❑ Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary not necessary; and it could have significant eco- Chart, one for each group logical impacts on the community being studied. ❑ Internet access (optional) Using the information provided by a limited ❑ Computer graphing program (optional) or number of samples, scientists attempt to copies of Graph Grid and colored pencils construct reliable models of algal, plant, and animal communities. Procedure During Sustainble Seas Expeditions, scientists may try to determine how the ocean is stratified by Student “pilots” will conduct a simulated collecting information about the chemical and 1 dive aboard the DeepWorker 2000 into physical properties of sea water as a function of Monterey Submarine Canyon to a maximum depth in a vertical transect. The use of a small depth of 600 meters (2,000 feet). research submersible like DeepWorker allows a scientist to collect samples in the water column while simultaneously conducting a video survey of animals encountered at a site. •48• INVESTIGATION 3 2 Organize the cards as follows: Dive Mission Cards and Wild Cards in separate contain- ers to be selected by students randomly; Water Sample Cards and Photographic Survey Cards arranged into separate piles according to depth (beginning at the surface and making separate 6 Pilots must “return to the surface” and piles for each depth down to 600 meters). process the data collected by constructing a Each pilot begins by drawing a Dive Mission graph that illustrates the stratification of the sea. Card that describes the research objective. (Dive Use the Graph Grid if a computer graphing Mission Cards describe vertical transects of program is not available. Colored pencils may be various depths.) Pilots then decide how to used to distinguish between pressure, tempera- complete the vertical transect. For example, a ture, salinity, and dissolved oxygen data. pilot could take single samples at either even or The pilot refers to posters, slide sets, and random spacing between collection sites; or they 7 on-line sources for illustrations of organisms could collect multiple samples at one depth. The identified on the Photographic Survey Cards. pilot must then write and file a Dive Plan that Have pilots draw and label pictures of organisms specifies the sampling technique to be used. encountered in their lab notebooks. 3 The pilot locates a dive site in the canyon on the Monterey Bay National Marine DIVE PLAN AND PRE-DIVE LOGISTICS SHEET Sanctuary Chart. Under Pre-Dive Logistics, each pilot records the depth of the water Dive Plan: The Dive Mission Card called for column at the site as well as the distance from me to make a vertical transect from the Monterey Coast Guard Pier to the dive site. A surface to 400m and allows me to take 10 general description of the site’s bathymetry water samples. I plan to take one sample should also be included. Have pilots select a every 50 meters while descending from the surface to 400 meters and to take the tenth Wild Card prior to their dive and follow the in- (and final) sample upon returning to the structions written on the card. surface because there is likely to be greater variability in water chemistry at the water/air The pilot collects a Water Sample and interface. Pressure, temperature, salinity, and 4 makes a Photographic Survey at intervals dissolved oxygen data will be collected at during the descent according to the Dive Plan. each site. Samples are available at 50-meter intervals Pre-Dive Logistics: My dive site is located in starting at the surface and ending on the floor of Monterey submarine canyon 10.7 miles the canyon at a depth of 600 meters. (17.8 kilometers) northwest (335°) of the Monterey Coast Guard pier. This area is west A pilot may only collect a total of 10 of the head of the canyon in 376 fathoms (2,256 feet/688 meters) of water. The ba- 5 samples each due to the limited dive time thymetry of the canyon in this location available. As many as four samples may be indicates a steep dropoff. collected from one particular depth. •49• INVESTIGATION 3 Sources of Deep Sea Animal Images and Other Information Web Sites http://www.virtual-canyon.org Refer to the Identification Guide located in Conclusion the Control Room and in the Galley of the Western Flyer Discuss how this activity compares to actual data collecting and how the sampling tech- http://www.discovery.com/stories/nature/ niques could be improved. What are the creatures/creatures.html potential sources of error inherent in this exper- iment’s design? What correlations exist http://bigjohn.bmi.net/yancey/ between the physico-chemical factors plotted Click on “Deep-Sea Pages” at top of page on your graph and the organisms encoun- tered? How do student profiles compare to http://bonita.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov/sitechar/ each other? What are advantages and dis- phys22.html advantages of different sampling techniques? Site characterization for Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Slide Sets Midwater animals and tools—20 slides for © MBARI 1991 $15.00 ATSUMOTO Available from Monterey Bay Aquarium I. M Research Institute EORGE G (To order, call MBARI at 831-775-1700.) Benthic animals—20 slides for $15.00 Available from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (To order, call MBARI at 831-775-1700.) MBARI facilities and tools—20 slides for $15.00 Available from Monterery Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Siphonophore (To order, call MBARI at 831-775-1700.) •50• DIVE MISSION CARDS DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect of the water column from of the water column from of the water column from of the water column from 0 meters to 100 meters. 0 meters to 350 meters. 0 meters to 600 meters. 50 meters to 350 meters. You may collect a total of You may collect a total of You may collect a total of You may collect a total of ten samples. ten samples. ten samples. ten samples. DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect of the water column from of the water column from of the water column from of the water column from 0 meters to 150 meters. 0 meters to 400 meters. 50 meters to 150 meters. 50 meters to 400 meters. You may collect a total of You may collect a total of You may collect a total of You may collect a total of ten samples. ten samples. ten samples. ten samples. DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect of the water column from of the water column from of the water column from of the water column from 0 meters to 200 meters. 0 meters to 450 meters. 50 meters to 200 meters. 50 meters to 450 meters. You may collect a total of You may collect a total of You may collect a total of You may collect a total of ten samples. ten samples. ten samples. ten samples. DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION DIVE MISSION Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect Complete a vertical transect of the water column from of the water column from of the water column from of the water column from 0 meters to 250 meters.